After falling below growth neutral for October, the region’s employment gauge expanded above the threshold for November. The index jumped to 51.2 from 48.2 in October. Goss says that still translates to slow job growth in the months ahead…

Looking six months ahead, economic optimism, as captured by the November business confidence index, expanded to 57.2 from October’s 56.0. Goss said “The temporary resolution of the debt ceiling and the re-opening of the federal government had a positive impact on supply managers’ outlook.”